Counting Books for Preschoolers

Books are a great way to teach a variety of concepts including number awareness! These number books for preschool are a great way to familiarize toddler, preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten age children with numbers and their meaning. They provide a playful, engaging, and FUN way to practice with these hand-picked counting books for preschoolers!

Counting Books for Preschoolers

Children’s books about counting are a fun way to introduce the concept of numbers and counting objects to little ones. So this list of counting books for preschoolers, toddlers, and kindergartners is full of colorful stories that will keeps kids engaged and inspire them to count along. Whether you are a parent, teacher, or homeschooler – you will love these number books for preschool kids and children of all ages!

Number books for preschool

Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd follows a little white dog who starts the day off with one spot. But as he goes about his day encountering different messes, he adds more colorful spots to his coat. Kids will love counting the spots on Dog, and seeing the messes he gets into.

Dr. Seuss’s 1 2 3 by Dr. Seuss teaches kids to count with a funny rhyming text and silly illustrations. The text focuses on one number at a time, using nonsense words and funny illustrations to keep kids counting along.

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow takes the familiar childhood counting rhyme and pairs it with adorable illustrations of little monkeys at bedtime. Kids will love singing and counting along with this one.

Ten Apples on Top by Theo LeSieg and Roy McKie follows a group of friends as they try to balance apples on their heads. This is a fun introduction to counting through a silly story and adorable animal cartoons.

On the Launch Pad by Michael Dahl, Derrick Alderman, and Denise Shea is a space themed introduction to counting. Each page features sweet space themed illustrations, as well as lots of opportunities to count and recognize different representations of numbers.

Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews uses simple black dots to create different images, encouraging kids to count on each page. The illustrations invite kids to count the black dots on the page, while the text shares how they can create different things out of dots.

Numbers by John J. Reiss is a brightly colored introduction to numbers and where these numbers can be found in the world. Each page features a large numeral, as well as captioned images of common objects that illustrate that number.

Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3 by Bill Martin Jr., Michael Sampson, and Lois Ehlert follows the numbers as they race to the top of the apple tree. The rhyming text and brightly colored illustrations are sure to delight fans of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

Ten Little Ladybugs by Melanie Garth and Lauran Huliska-Beith uses a simple rhyming text and colorful cartoon illustrations to count down from 10 to 1. As each individual ladybug disappears from the story, the die cut illustrations remove one three dimensional ladybug with the turn of a page. The sweet twist ending will delight young readers.

Ten Little Fish by Audrey Wood and Bruce Wood counts down from 10 to 1 with a sweet rhyming tale about a group of fish. Each turn of the page makes another fish depart, and then grows the school of fish back to ten again.

Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh tells the story of a hungry snake collecting mice in a jar for his dinner, and what happens when the clever mice try to escape. Kids will enjoy counting the mice up to ten and back down again.

Little Owl’s 1-2-3 by Divya Srinivasan joins the cute Little Owl as he flies through the forest saying hello to his friends. Each page visits different animals, and the text counts up from one to ten. This is a great introduction to counting, and a great bedtime story as well.

Goodnight Moon 123 by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd uses the beloved illustrations from Goodnight Moon to introduce the concept of counting to young kids.

Goodnight, Numbers by Danica McKellar and Alicia Padron is a sweet bedtime book bidding good night to familiar objects all around them. The simple rhyming text and cute illustrations highlight recognizable items, and share each number in large, colorful fonts.

The Crayons’ Book of Numbers by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers encourages kids to count along as they collect Duncan’s missing crayons. Kids will love revisiting the hilarious crayons from previous books, while counting along with the text and illustrations.

Learning with Llama Llama: Numbers by Anna Dewdney and JT Morrow joins the beloved Llama Llama as he counts down from 10 to 1 while cleaning up around the house. The rhyming text is paired with colorful illustrations in Dewdney’s signature style.

Excavator’s 123 by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Ethan Long visits a construction site with Excavator and his truck friends as they count up to 10. The rhyming text is paired with illustrations that give kids a chance to count up to the number featured on the page.

Steam Train, Dream Train 1-2-3 by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld joins the group of animal friends from the book Stream Train, Dream Train as they go car by car on the train counting from 1 to 10. The rhyming text is paired with soothing illustrations featuring the adorable animal characters.

10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle follows the journey of ten rubber ducks who are swept overboard off a cargo ship. As they go off in different directions, readers have a chance to learn about counting, numbers, and directions.

A Horse Named Jack by Linda Vander Heyden and Petra Brown shares the adventure of Jack the horse as he escapes from his pen, meets friends, and steals some snacks. The rhyming text counts from 1 to 10 while the accompanying illustrations highlight the antics of the adorable horse.

One-osaurus, Two-osaurus by Kim Norman and Pierre Collet-Derby joins a group of dinosaurs as they play a counting game. The peppy rhyming text and brightly colored illustrations of adorable dino characters will have kids dancing and counting along with this one.

One Sheep, Two Sheep by Tammi Sauer and Troy Cummings encourages kids to count sheep along with a Rooster who is trying to sleep. But the other animals keep interrupting his counting. Kids will love the silly story, and the fun exploration of counting.

Kindness Counts 123 by R.A. Strong and Ekaterina Trukhan is a counting book that highlights simple acts of kindness that kids can do. The easy to understand text and sweet illustrations introduce the concepts of counting and kindness in a fun and approachable way.

Good Night, Baboon! by Sabrina and Eunice Moyle follows one little baboon as he tries to escape bedtime. The rhyming text and silly illustrations show groups of animals getting ready for bed as the little baboon runs around causing mayhem.

How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague joins the beloved dinosaurs from the How Do Dinosaurs? series of books as they count to ten. The rhyming text is paired with detailed illustrations showing different types of dinosaurs acting as human children do.